Saint Peter's Tomb in Rome

On December 23, 1950, in his pre-Christmas radio broadcast to the world, Pope Pius XII announced the discovery of Saint Peter's tomb.^[1] This was the culmination of 10 years of archaeological research under the crypt of the basilica. is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pius XIIs signature Pope Pius XII (Latin: ), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (March 2, 1876 – October 9, 1958), reigned as the 260th pope, the human head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City, from March 2, 1939 until his death. ... St Peter redirects here. ...

Modern excavation

Between 1939 and 1949 the archaeological team had uncovered a complex of mausoleums under the foundations of St. Peter's Basilica, dating to the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Most impressive was the small monument under the present altar of the church which they believed was built as early as AD 160 marked above the tomb below it. This article is about the famous building in Rome. ...

In 1942, the Administrator of St. Peter's, Monsignor Ludwig Kaas, found remains in a second tomb in the monument. Being concerned that these presumed relics of a saint would not be accorded the respect they deserved, and having little understanding of correct archeological procedures, he secretly ordered these remains stored elsewhere for safe-keeping. Monsignor Ludwig Kaas (23 May 1881-15 April 1952) was a Roman Catholic priest, and a prominent German politician during the Weimar Republic. ...

After Kaas' death, researcher Margherita Guarducci discovered these relics by chance. She informed Pope Paul VI of her belief that these remains were those of St. Peter. Bone testing revealed that the remains belonged to a man in his sixties. On June 26th 1968 Paul VI announced that the relics of St. Peter had been discovered. This article cites very few or no references or sources. ... June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Tracing the original tombs

Although traditions suggest that Peter was in Rome, there is no incontrovertible historical evidence. Dionysius of Corinth wrote the following to the Church of Rome in the time of the bishopric of Soter, thanking the Romans for their financial help, in about 170AD: "You have thus by such an admonition bound together the planting of Peter and of Paul at Rome and Corinth. For both of them planted and likewise taught us in our Corinth. And they taught together in like manner in Italy, and suffered martyrdom at the same time".^[2] Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth lived about the year 170. ...

There has been controversy over the identity of the remains in the tomb. Several remains of barnyard animals were found in the tomb along with human remains.^[3] Attempts to identify the tomb require tracing the movement of relics over the millennia. Often stories refer to the saints in the plural, meaning both Apostles, Peter and Paul. According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside-down, as shown in this painting by Caravaggio. ... Paul of Tarsus (b. ...

There might have been little difficulty in obtaining the body of the Apostle after his alleged martyrdom. Catholic tradition states that the bereaved Christians seem to have followed their usual custom in burying him as near as possible to the scene of his suffering. According to Catholic lore, he was laid in ground that belonged to Christian proprietors, by the side of a well-known road leading out of the city, the Via Cornelia (site of a known pagan and Christian cemetery) on the hill called Vaticanus. The actual tomb seems to have been an underground vault, approached from the road by a descending staircase, and the body reposed in a sarcophagus of stone in the center of this vault. Legend says that the tomb of St. Peter was at first marked simply by a red rock, for safety's sake as those wishing to pay respects or make pilgrimage to the site might recognize the meaning of the red rock while it would have no meaning to nonbelievers. Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for his or her religious faith. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... The Via Cornelia was an ancient road of Rome that ran parallel with the north side of the Circus of Nero, diverging from the via Triumphalis. ... The Etruscan Sarcophagus of the Spouses, at the National Etruscan Museum. ...

There is evidence of the existence of the tomb (trophoea, i.e., trophies, as signs or memorials of victory) here at the beginning of the second century, in the words of the priest Caius.^[4] Some loving-cup trophies seen in the London Irish clubhouse at Sunbury in 2002. ...

These tombs were the objects of pilgrimage during the ages of persecution, and it will be found recorded in the Acts of several of the martyrs that they were seized while praying at the tombs of the Apostles. This article is about the religious or spiritual journey. ... For other uses, see Martyr (disambiguation). ...

In 258, a Christian persecution may have forced the removal of these relics to the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian where they could be venerated without reprisal from the authorities or a desecration of the relics. They were removed secretly by night and hidden. The fact of their removal may have been known to very few, and the great body of Roman Christians believed them still to rest in their original tombs. Another source gives this date as "384".

At a later date, when the persecution was less acute, they were brought back again to the Vatican and the Via Ostiana respectively.

When the Church was once more at peace under Constantine the Great, Christians were able at last to build edifices suitable for the celebration of Divine Service. The resting places of the relics of the Apostles were naturally among the first to be selected as the sites of great basilicas. The emperor supplied the funds for these buildings, in his desire to honor the memories of the two Apostles. Constantine. ... This article discusses the Mass as part of Christian liturgy, in particular the form it has taken in the Latin rite of the Catholic Church. ... Look up basilica in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

At St. Peter's, the matter was complicated by the fact that Pope Anacletus, in the first century, had built an upper chamber or memoria above the vault. This upper chamber had become endeared to the Romans during the ages of persecution, and they were unwilling that it should be destroyed. In order to preserve it a singular and unique feature was given to the basilica in the raised platform of the apse and the Chapel of the Confession underneath. The reverence in which the place has always been held has resulted in these arrangements remaining almost unchanged to the present time, in spite of the rebuilding of the church. The actual vault in which the body lies has not been accessible since the ninth century. This article is about the famous building in Rome. ... Anacletus, or Anencletus, was the third pope (after St Peter and St Linus). ... (1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century - other centuries) The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 99. ... (8th century - 9th century - 10th century - other centuries) Events Beowulf might have been written down in this century, though it could also have been in the 8th century Viking attacks on Europe begin Oseberg ship burial The Magyars arrive in what is now Hungary, forcing the Serbs and Bulgars south...

Possible Ossuary of Saint Peter in Jerusalem

"At almost the same time that the Pope announced to the world that he had found the tomb of St Peter in Rome, 1500 miles away there was another discovery of an ancient grave, on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. In 1953, two Franciscan monks were digging in a cave when they discovered hundreds of first century ossuaries - coffins from the time of Jesus and the Twelve Disciples. (...) These Catholic archaeologists believe they had found the earliest physical evidence of a Christian community in Jerusalem, including some very familiar Biblical names. (...) But one of them was a potentially explosive find. It read: "Shimon Bar Yonah" - Simon, the Son of Jonah: the original Biblical name of the Disciple Peter." ^[5] The Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives, overlooking the Old City The Mount of Olives (also Mount Olivet, Hebrew: ‎, Har HaZeitim; Arabic: ‎, Jebel ez-Zeitun, Jebel et-Tur, Mount of the Summit) is a mountain ridge to the east of Jerusalem. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ...

The 43 inscriptions discovered in the Dominus Flevit cemetery between May 1953 and June 1955 were published with photographs by P. B. Bagatti and J. T. Milik in 1958.^[6][7] The inscriptions on the ossuaries also included the names Jesus, Joseph, Judas, Mathew, Martha, Mary and Mariame - with the inscriptions of the latter two names being written in Greek.

The Catholic Church officially rejects the identification of the tomb discovered on the Mount of Olives bearing the inscription "Shimon Bar Yonah" with the Disciple Peter, arguing that the inscription is a mere coincidence, lacking the tradition associating the Disciple Peter with Rome - although there are people who take the identification of the tomb in Jerusalem with the Disciple Peter very seriously.^[8]

Footnotes

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the British television station. ...

See also

• Shrine
• Church of Domine Quo Vadis
• San Pietro in Vincoli
• St Peter's Cathedral in Geneva
• St. Peter's Baldachin

Shrine is also used as a conventional translation of the Japanese Jinja. ... Chiesa di Santa Maria in Palmis, better known as Chiesa del Domine Quo Vadis? is a small church southeast of Rome. ... Façade of the Basilica. ... St. ...

External links

• The Tomb of St. Peter by Margherita Guarducci Book by a scholar who worked on the tomb
• The Bones of St Peter by John Evangelist Walsh The First Full Account of the Search for the Apostle's Body
• Of Bones and Boners: St. Peter at the Vatican - Opinion piece skeptical of the conclusions described.
• Map of the Vatican Necropolis- Interactive Map of the Tombs
•   "Tomb of St. Peter". Catholic Encyclopedia. (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company. 

This article incorporates text from the entry Tomb of St. Peter in the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... Not to be confused with New Catholic Encyclopedia. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Not to be confused with New Catholic Encyclopedia. ...